RELAY INTRODUCTION

The first relay was invented by Joseph Henry in 1835. The name relay derives from the french
noun relais that indicates the horse exchange place of the postman. Generally a relay is an
electrical hardware device having an input and output gate. The output gate consists in a one or
more electrical contacts that switch when the input gate is electrically excited. It can implement a
decoupler, a router or braker for the electrical power, a negation, and, on the base of the wiring,
complicated logical functions containing and, or, and flip-flop. In the past relays had a wide use,
for instance the telephone switching or the railway routing and crossing systems. In spite of
electronic progresses (as programmable devices), relays are still used in applications where
ruggedness, simplicity, long life and high reliability are important factors (for instance in safety
applications).

Operation

When a current flows through the coil, the resulting magnetic field attracts an armature that is
mechanically linked to a moving contact. The movement either makes or breaks a connection
with a fixed contact. When the current to the coil is switched off, the armature is returned by a
force approximately half as strong as the magnetic force to its relaxed position. Usually this is a
spring, but gravity is also used commonly in industrial motor starters. Most relays are
manufactured to operate quickly. In a low voltage application, this is to reduce noise. In a high
voltage or high current application, this is to reduce arcing.

If the coil is energized with DC, a diode is frequently installed across the coil, to dissipate the
energy from the collapsing magnetic field at deactivation, which would otherwise generate a
spike of voltage and might cause damage to circuit components. If the coil is designed to be
energizedwith AC, a small copper ring can be crimped to the end of the solenoid. This "shading
ring" creates a small out-of-phase current, which increases the minimum pull on the armature
during the AC cycle. [1

Electromechanical relay:
It consists in a fixed coil (a) and a moving armature (b) mechanically linked (c) to a moving
contact (d). Feeding the coil by means of electrical current a magnetic field rises. Then the
moving armature is attracted to the coil and, consequentially, the contact can be moved. The
movement of the contact either makes or breaks an electrical connection with a fixed contact (e).
When the feeding current of the coil is removed, the armature and the feed contact return to their
relaxed position by means of a spring or of the elasticity of the contact. An electromechanical
relay has galvanic insulation between the input and output gate and between the terminals of the
contacts when they are in break position.

Relays are used:

• to control a high-voltage circuit with a low-voltage signal, as in some types of modems,

• to control a high-current circuit with a low-current signal, as in the starter solenoid of an
automobile,
• to detect and isolate faults on transmission and distribution lines by opening and closing
circuit breakers (protection relays),
• to isolate the controlling circuit from the controlled circuit when the two are at different
potentials, for example when controlling a mains-powered device from a low-voltage
 switch. The latter is often applied to control office lighting as the low voltage wires are
easily installed in partitions, which may be often moved as needs change. They may also
be controlled by room occupancy detectors in an effort to conserve energy,
• to perform logic functions. For example, the boolean AND function is realised by
connecting NO relay contacts in series, the OR function by connecting NO contacts in
parallel. The change-over or Form C contacts perform the XOR (exclusive or) function.
Similar functions for NAND and NOR are accomplished using NC contacts. Due to the
failure modes of a relay compared with a semiconductor, they are widely used in safety
critical logic, such as the control panels of radioactive waste handling machinery.
• to perform time delay functions. Relays can be modified to delay opening or delay closing
a set of contacts. A very short (a fraction of a second) delay would use a copper disk
between the armature and moving blade assembly. Current flowing in the disk maintains
magnetic field for a short time, lengthening release time. For a slightly longer (up to a
minute) delay, a dashpot is used. A dashpot is a piston filled with fluid that is allowed to
escape slowly. The time period can be varied by increasing or decreasing the flow rate.
For longer time periods, a mechanical clockwork timer is installed.